Capital Accumulation and Metabolic Rifts: Climate Change and Indigenous Resistance in the Canadian Arctic

Abstract

Climate change is increasingly impacting populations globally, influencing the severity of storms, floods, droughts and related consequences. Using Marxist and environmental sociological theory, this thesis critically examines the legacy of capitalism and colonialism in relation to climate change, with particular attention focused on the role of water in all three. Bringing these strands together is a case study of climate change and Inuit responsiveness in the Canadian Arctic. In this thesis I argue that climate change is not just a problem of capitalism, but of ontology, specifically the understanding of the human-environment relation in terms of subjects and objects. Against this separating ontology, I highlight the inter-connection of multiple threads of causality and interdependency. The effects of capitalism cannot be separated from the effects of colonialism, and while indigenous people have been subjected to both, they also continue to adhere to alternative ontologies that may offer guidance to a way forward. I explore the problem of capitalist ontology and possible alternatives through an analysis of the integral role of water in human life. While water is only one element in the environment that could be focused on, consideration of its centrality to the development of capitalism and colonialism serves as an important reminder for us of our continuing dependence on nature. We can also see the centrality of water in the effects of climate change, such as floods, droughts and storms. In this thesis, I explore the ramifications of climate change in the Arctic as an important case study for identifying possible future responses to this ecological crisis. The Arctic is one area in which the effects of climate change are already being experienced in a profound way. Thus, looking at responses to climate change in the Arctic can highlight possibilities that might be pursued elsewhere as its effects mount. Additionally, as the region remains predominantly indigenous, it is also a site in which indigenous ontologies play a part in the development of viable responses to the ecological crisis.